“I re-call when our office was a few chairs around an old table in the bothy of Killiehuntly Farmhouse” says Ali MacDonell who today is a heading a small hospitality team handling enquiries from all over the world. Killiehuntly Farmhouse opened in December 2012, the first of our new design and concept hospitality offerings. The following year it was recognised as one of the best new hotels in the world by Travel & Leisure, a magazine which is read globally by travellers looking for bespoke luxury stays.

The same year, Kinloch Lodge near Tongue, Sutherland opened which was quickly followed by another 8 hospitality offerings across our estates, setting new standards and creating interest from both modern travellers and the international media alike.

It is remarkable how far we have come in such a short space of time. In only a few years Wildland have grown to a team of over 60 great local people and is set to continue growing.

“Today we service a total of almost 150 guests daily throughout northern Scotland with a growing staff of committed locals. Currently the company is run out of a rented flat in Aviemore, which is already too small and too cramped for people to work effectively in”.

“Throughout Wildland we strive to have a certain quality and a high standard in everything we do. From our long term commitment to nature conservation, hosting our guests in a way that we think is best, through to taking good care of our team” says Wildland CEO Tim Kirkwood.

“For some time we have been scouting for a location near Aviemore which was appropriate in terms of housing our administration team as well as providing training and education, storage and workshop facilities.”

“We feel very honoured to be able to take over Kinrara Estate. It’s a historic place of value to the local community in a beautiful setting which we look forward to taking care of and sharing with the public”.

Share This

]]>https://wildland.org/new-wildland-head-quarter-in-aviemore/feed/0Making capital from nature is a long-term visionhttps://wildland.org/making-capital-from-nature-is-a-long-term-vision/
https://wildland.org/making-capital-from-nature-is-a-long-term-vision/#respondWed, 14 Nov 2018 06:01:57 +0000https://wildland.org/?p=5156The post Making capital from nature is a long-term vision appeared first on Wildland.
]]>

By Thomas MacDonell, Director of Conservation, Wildland Limited.

Our natural capital is rightfully seen as an asset for the whole country. Successive government strategies on biodiversity have recognised the benefits for Scotland of a diverse natural environment, and the contribution it can make to sustainable economic growth. But reaching biodiversity nirvana is a complex and very long journey.

Furthermore, the actions needed to achieve such a goal are often met with scepticism or worse, hostility.

For Scotland’s estates and great swathes of our majestic countryside, the game changer in terms of their environmental protection was Natura 2000. This ecological network of protected areas provided the rigour needed for the EU’s Habitats Directive, under which Special Areas of Conservation were established, providing teeth for local environmental laws, forcing many landowners to change their mindset towards their land holdings and how they were managed.

For some estates too, there were additional cost pressures. Putting in place new land management expertise and implementing habitat monitoring procedures was entirely new, not necessarily straightforward and often unwanted.

Many estates had previously diversified to try to make the land ‘pay’, with decisions commonly based around maximising returns from existing government subsidy frameworks, such as those for renewable energy. Even then, most estates lose money – as do ours, for the time being at least. Sometimes, however, when onlookers focus on profit and loss as prime motivators, they find it is hard to credit the fact that there are those who buy land simply because nature is their passion and natural beauty has its own value.

The introduction of Natura 2000, in fact, opened the way for new types of owners to step forward, step up and start building new businesses around the natural capital.

Anders Holch Povlsen bought Glenfeshie in the Cairngorms in 2006. Since then he has continued to buy designated sites where there is little obvious commercial opportunity, along with the lands connecting them to create the ability to approach environmental rehabilitation on a landscape scale.

His vision, which is being implemented by Wildland Limited, is for developing and nurturing Scotland’s most special habitats and protecting its most valuable landscapes.

At Glenfeshie, a decade after taking charge, deer numbers have been reduced to levels that are more in balance with the land’s capacity to support them, and new trees emerge every year and – instead of being browsed – are allowed to gain a foothold, with new Scots pine, birch and juniper thriving.

Hopefully soon, through the Cairngorms Connect project, Glenfeshie’s expanding ecosystem will eventually connect with Abernethy Forest, where the RSPB has so successfully created an area where rare birds are now returning in ever greater numbers.

But conservation capital simply isn’t sustainable unless it involves people and delivers the health, well-being and economic benefits that the Scottish Government quite rightly aspires to in its policy ambitions. Mr Povlsen’s vision is about people and place too.
For Wildland Limited, conservation and landscape restoration go hand in hand with investment in a high value, low impact tourism business that seeks to draw in new vitality to the rural economy, along with the visitors who are a growing source of income in the Highlands.

Creating and protecting places for people to visit and stay yields economic and employment opportunities in areas that otherwise lack such prospects. We are creating not only direct employment – gardeners, chefs, conservationists and hospitality staff – but also opportunities for those who seek a livelihood in engaging with what we do through a growing supply chain.

The aim is to be part of a strong, diverse and sustainable economy in Scotland’s remote and rural communities.

Glenfeshie still provides field sports, but it also welcomes walkers and adventurers who enjoy the landscape and our well-maintained bothy. Our estate’s team actively engages with rural skills training and a wider range of outdoor pursuits, while the restoration of nearby Killiehuntly Farm House and steadings as high-end accommodation is encouraging new visitors to enjoy the wider area.

And we’re replicating that balance of conservation sustained by economic investment elsewhere. Our Wildland North Coast estates are the focus of a far reaching investment programme that’s creating opportunities for visitors to stay to enjoy iconic landscapes around Ben Loyal and Ben Hope.

Commercial success is neither a short-term aspiration, nor even a reality, on many estates, and with 396 Natura 2000 sites in Scotland (approximately 15% of its land surface) the motivation of many estate owners has to be something more than simple profit. At the same time, neither can it be about delivering conservation objectives at the expense of financial opportunities for local people.

To build a future around Scotland’s natural capital has to be a vision that balances these drivers over the long term.

When visiting Glenfeshie Estate you have the opportunity to experience a wild landscape in the making. Glenfeshie Estate holds 45,000 acres that is the centre of an ambitious privately undertaken 200-year vision to enhance habitats, species and ecological processes within the Cairngorms National Park. The landscape of Glenfeshie Estate is the landscape of superlatives: Ancient Caledonian woodlands intersected by sparkling rivers and lochs, encircle by a mountain-massif which is the most extensive and wildest of its kind in the UK. It is a place where golden eagles soar, wildcats prowl and red squirrels forage. Glenfeshie is home to plants, birds and mammals found in only a few other places in the UK.

Glenfeshie Estate belongs to WildLand Limited. The company is based in Aviemore with significant landholdings in Scotland and is committed to delivering habitat enhancement at a scale unparalleled in its scope, scale and timeframe in the UK. Over the coming years we plan to re-establish native woodlands to their natural limits, including high-altitude montane woodland. To restore peatlands, wetlands and rivers and at the same time build support and understanding locally, nationally and internationally. By staying at Glenfeshie you are supporting important work for nature across a vast area.

Glenfeshie Estate is not only part of the history of Scotland. It is also an important part of the Danish owner’s life. The estate was love at first sight and it was the first step toward a fantastic undertaking bringing back the original natural habitats and wildlife of the area, as well as bringing momentum in the traditional Scottish hospitality industry for private estates. A stay at one of the estate’s three properties is most certainly an experience that will not be easily forgotten. It will stay with you for many years and bring a smile to your face when you think of the landscape and the splendour of the Lodge.

Share This

]]>https://wildland.org/visit-the-povlsens-private-highland-home-glenfeshie-lodge/feed/0Breakfast & Big Open Spaceshttps://wildland.org/breakfast-big-open-spaces/
https://wildland.org/breakfast-big-open-spaces/#respondThu, 06 Sep 2018 13:45:04 +0000https://wildland.org/?p=464The perfect recipe for a day out on the hillsides.

Over recent weeks we’ve had some fascinating conversations with our guests staying at Kinloch Lodge, the Killiehuntly Farmhouse and also our new wilderness cottage up at Kyle and, for whatever reason, they’ve all had the same thing to say.

In a nutshell, the feeling seems to be that if guests have been out on the hillsides all day, trekking or even climbing Munros, whether they’ve been down on the river fishing, or even off site for the day and playing a round of golf on one of Scotland’s many acclaimed courses, it’s been the quality of our breakfasts that have helped get them through their day.

I myself, staying in The Hayloft at Killiehuntly, went for an early morning run in the Cairngorm National Park and found myself past the mythical 10,000 steps daily target before breakfast – and there’s no doubt whatsoever that the breakfast left waiting for me was just what I needed to underpin the rest of my day’s exertions.

…just in case you’re wondering, I ended up with 45,000 steps which translates to mean roughly 40/45 kilometers run or walked across the course of the day… …40/45 kilometres amidst the most beautiful scenery you’re likely to encounter anywhere.

Anyway, back to breakfast.

I’ve asked the team at Killiehuntly to provide me with recipes for breakfasts you can make yourself at home (perhaps while you await your own opportunity to have us make it for you when you visit next):

…and if four trays are too much to contemplate, just divide the ingredients accordingly and make the amount that suits you.

Also, Killiehuntly Orange Marmalade

Ingredients & Measurements:

800g Oranges
1kg Sugar
1 Vanilla pod
2 Lemons

Method:

– Wash the oranges and remove any green stalk
– Put oranges in a pot and cover with cold water
– Bring to the boil and simmer until oranges are soft (about 2 hours)
– Drain the oranges and cut in quarters to remove any seeds
– Add the oranges to a food processor or mixer and mix into a puree
– Add the puree into a pot and mix with sugar and seeds from the vanilla pod
– Bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 min
– Add the lemon juice and fill into sterilised jars

We all hope that you enjoy making these delicious typically Scottish breakfast treats and there’s an open invitation to get in touch, to come visit us and stay, and try these breakfasts and much more too. There’s accommodation across the estates to suit all budgets and the team here will do all we can to make your stay truly special.

We are progressing with plans to restore the Free Presbyterian church at Eriboll and make it available to the community once more for worship and other appropriate gatherings.

The church has long been a focal point for Eriboll and its surrounding villages but has, over recent years, fallen into disrepair.

Wildland is pleased to have this opportunity which works for both us and the community we are part of.

The photographs below show what Eriboll church looked like in days gone by, our drawings show our plans for its restoration.

Restoring Eriboll church isn’t a one-off exercise though, in partnership with Scottish National Heritage we have also funded the addition of a viewing platform to the Castle Varrich ruins for the enjoyment of tourists and local people alike (you can read more about this project here), taken steps to ensure that the Post Office and village store in Tongue remains open, and are now deep into a project to restore the old Lundies manse in Tongue as a new boutique hotel. When Lundies opens it will of course provide new accommodation for tourists visiting the area, as well as creating new opportunities for employment.

Just south of the village of Tongue, up in the Highlands’ rugged north, is the latest addition to Wildland’s diverse mix of accommodation.

This beautifully appointed cottage perched close to the beautiful estuary (Kyle) of Tongue offers silence and solitude – if that’s what you’re looking for – yet also provides easy access to the broad mix of Highland pursuits and experiences that our guests are visiting us for.

This traditional stone built cottage, thrust firmly into the 21st Century, sleeps two and offers jaw-dropping views to the sea loch to the north and the many glens and hillsides that surround it.

One wall has been given a larger than expected glass window which frames the staggering vista of the Ben Hope Munro. You can easily hike to this. …and perhaps even climb it yourself.

The Wildland design team have imaginatively re-purposed this previously derelict structure – with an over-riding focus towards good design and a love of architecture and craftsmanship have mapped our signature mix of Scandi-cool and Highlands styling. We have created our own all-new interior plan to form sensible and natural living spaces. Actually there is probably nothing else quite like it and we are sure our guests will appreciate this incredible highland hideaway the minute they first walk through the front door.

For more information about Kyle house you can visit the website here or contact us via email to find out more.

From our intrepid explorer’s base at Wildland’s Kinloch Lodge, situated just south of the Kyle of Tongue up in Scotland’s rugged north, there’s a staggering number of beautiful walks available to suit just about every level of fitness. …and whilst the word ‘epic’ is all too often over-used up in the Highlands, we defy you to coin many words that are more apt.

Whether you wish to sit atop one of a coastal cliff and watch sea birds soaring above you, or whether you’re more the type to climb a Munro – and Ben Hope, one of the Highlands most arresting mountains is visible from the Kinloch Lodge and Ben Loyal is nearby too – there are few destinations better situated to introduce you to the very best of what outdoor Scotland has to offer.

There are literally miles and miles of hills and coastal paths to explore and it’s quite likely that even if you are out enjoying these stunning big open spaces for the whole day, you’ll not encounter another living soul. The sense of peace and tranquillity is unparalleled, not just outside, but also after a day’s good exercise when you’re back at Kinloch. If you’ve exercised hard we guarantee you’ll have a night’s sleep like no other but, before, Wildland’s cook at the lodge will feed you in exactly the way you feel you’ve deserved; good hearty food, beautifully prepared and sourced from local produce cooked on site just for you.

The largest remaining old growth forests in Europe are in Romania. …and they’re at risk!

In many ways, Romania offers us a fascinating insight of what the Scottish Highlands once looked like; mountains and hillsides for as far as you can see covered in forests of pine, alder, larch, juniper and all of the wildlife that still thrives within this rich ecosystem.

…exactly the landscape we’d like to see restored across the whole of the Highlands, and exactly what we are working towards on the Wildland estates where we are giving nature a chance to regenerate itself as naturally and across as realistic timescales as is possible.

However, conversely, the Scottish Highlands also provides Romania with ample warning of what could happen if logging there is allowed to continue without any parallel focus towards conservation, the creation of designated areas – National Parks – or appropriate regulation.

It’s a conundrum that is especially fascinating for us, because as well as its extensive holdings in Scotland, Wildland has now acquired land in Romania too and very much wants to participate in a conservation project there that is as ambitious as any underway anywhere else in the world at this point in time.

Over the past ten years, Foundation Conservation Carpathia has already acquired over 21,000 hectares of forests and Alpine meadows; 8000 hectares of which are already designated as non-intervention zones and a further 1000 hectares of ancient old growth forest have already been introduced into the National Catalogue and are protected in perpetuity.

The dream is to create a National Park in Europe the equivalent of Yellowstone or Yosemite in the United States. …with the same level of contribution to local communities and the local economy as has now been experienced for over 100 years over there.

So, Wildland was delighted to be given the opportunity to contribute towards the funding of two new publications for promoting and detailing FCC’s work and are proud to see our new branding imposed on this new literature.

For more information about the Foundation Conservation Carpathia project, click here.

Wildland has just invested towards providing one of its estate rangers, Ronan Dugan, with a state-of-the-art professional camera so that he might photograph for us not just the incredible scenic landscapes that are part-and-parcel of his job, all across the seasons, but also the wildlife that he is just as likely to encounter.

One of Ronan’s first opportunities to test the new kit was to photograph Wildland’s programme to satellite tag raptors – birds of prey – across the estates.

The ensuing shoot captured stunning images of Golden eagles in flight, as well as young eagle chicks still in their nests (and now safely tagged).

We were also able to tag five young Harrier chicks in a single nest.

For obvious reasons we won’t go into detail as to exactly where these nests are, but visitors to the Highlands and on many of the Wildland estates that we can offer accommodation, seeing golden eagles and other birds of prey isn’t at all an unlikely encounter. That said, seeing eagles soaring on summer thermals or swooping towards prey they’ve spotted from above is the highlight of so many visitors to the Highlands and we trust that these images inspiring you to plan you’re own trip ‘up North’.

If you’re giving thought to where you might stay, do contact us as Wildland has accommodation to suit all budgets, some of it entirely off-grid and amidst the most dramatic landscapes imaginable.

Share This

]]>https://wildland.org/where-eagles-fly/feed/0Pony Picnicshttps://wildland.org/pony-picnics/
https://wildland.org/pony-picnics/#respondWed, 20 Jun 2018 07:50:14 +0000https://wildland.org/?p=3439Wildland's own variation on this popular social treat.

We have created the opportunity for Wildland’s guests to share their day with our Highland ponies at some beautiful and epic locations up in the hills on some of our estates.

These ponies, which traditionally have been used to bring stalkers’ deer off the hillsides, are increasingly having their days occupied accompanying our guests – and the fabulous picnics we make for them – to a broad mix of picturesque riverside or hillside locations on our estates. There’s nothing more calming than a few hours hiking with ponies, and the views across the lochs and glens in our improving habitats. The chance to see eagles, grouse and deer, perhaps catch and cook a trout add excitement to the day.

The ponies have been bred for these hillsides. They’re stocky and they’re strong and can accompany our guests to places that are simply inaccessible to motorised vehicles. They are also fabulously gentle beasts, which is an important factor when many of our guests have never worked with a horse before. Our routes take into account ability so there is an opportunity for all.

The food we make for our guests at all of our lodges and cottages is always well-received and one of our greatest recommendations – locally sourced, simple, and a great way to start the day or to end it – and it should be no surprise that those same values translate to the care attention we give to the picnics we make too.

So, whether you’re booked to stay with us, or are planning your visit and would like to indulge with this treat for the day, do just contact us here for more information.

In fact our Pony picnic experience is a little bit famous, there’s a broadcast on BBC Radio 4 about one in our Wildland Cairngorm estate that you can listen to here.